


what are friends for?

by moonsuhs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Rated T for Mild Language, Slice of Life, yeah they make out to the ending scene of the breakfast club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonsuhs/pseuds/moonsuhs
Summary: When Jaehyun has a bad day at work, Johnny comes to his rescue with pizza and snacks. Because that’s what friends are for, right? Friends also share one couch cushion and slow dance to coming-of-age movie soundtracks, right?Or, Johnny takes his sweet time realizing that his feelings may be more than just normal best friends, and Jaehyun is very much tired of waiting.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 22
Kudos: 114
Collections: Coffee Dates Fest [1st Round]





	what are friends for?

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #003** : Jaehyun feeling a little sad because some customers at his job are being pricks, and messaging Johnny about it. Johnny drives to his house in the middle of the night, bringing food and comfort. They start goofing around dancing in the living room, but as Jaehyun gets more sleepy and starts leaning on him, Johnny realizes his platonic feelings may not be as platonic as he thought.
> 
> note: they watch the breakfast club and sing [this song](https://open.spotify.com/track/0A4PZuepTcIQVvA5m7R0M1?si=Qmv7YWEdSLaAGndeOvmxhg) and i wrote a lot of this listening to it, too, so maybe give it a listen as you read (especially if you don't know it!) enjoy :3

Johnny drops his bag to the ground a step before he collapses onto the couch, spinning midair to hit the cushions on his back with a sigh. It’s been a while since he worked an overtime shift and he’d forgotten just how exhausted it left him, ready to crawl into bed at only 9pm. He loves his job though, and locking up a few times a month wasn’t the end of the world. It’s not like he has anything better to do on a Monday night.

Resisting the urge to fall asleep right there, he gives himself a few minutes of rest before dragging himself off the couch and into the kitchen to make some instant noodles. He’s been trying to cut carbs lately, but he isn’t in the mood for any real cooking and a little cheat every once and a while won’t hurt.

As soon as they’re done cooking, he skips a bowl and takes the pot to the table directly, setting it on a little potholder and scarfing it down. They’re gone too soon, and he finds himself wanting another packet, but he resists. Instead, he fills a glass with water and returns to the couch to turn on the TV and find something to watch for the rest of the night.

He’s just settled on The Breakfast Club when his phone vibrates from his bag on the floor, and he stretches to pull it out. It continues to vibrate in his hand as more notifications flash across the screen, too fast for him to read. Frowning, he quickly unlocks it to read them from the beginning.

 **Jaehyunie [9:22pm]**  
you won’t BELIEVE what happened at work today  
i’m on the way home and i’m still so frustrated  
my shift was ALMOST done  
it’s stupid but i can’t let it go

Johnny skims the messages as the next one comes in, fingers flying across the screen to reply just as quickly.

**Johnny [9:24pm]**  
whoa whoa  
what happened?

 **Jaehyunie [9:24pm]**  
awful customer  
i don’t really wanna talk about it  
but i also do or else i’ll never get over it

 **Johnny [9:25pm]**  
:( sorry jae  
customers suck sometimes

 **Jaehyunie [9:26pm]**  
he said i was unprofessional  
and didn’t deserve my job

 **Johnny [9:26pm]**  
okay some customers suck but some are just complete assholes  
you know that isn’t true

Johnny’s frown deepens at his last messages, imagining him at the counter getting yelled at for no reason by a self-obsessed prick. Jaehyun takes longer to reply, and it’s nearly a minute before it shows him typing again.

**Jaehyunie [9:28pm]**  
i know  
but it doesn’t feel like it right now

He sighs, looking up at the ceiling and trying to figure out what else he can say to make him feel better. Jaehyun always took things harder when it was about his job, and he knows he’ll carry this around for a while, even if it was baseless and coming from a pissed off customer. His eyes flick to the time at the top of his screen before he starts typing again.

**Johnny [9:29pm]**  
are you home yet?

 **Jaehyunie [9:29pm]**  
no  
missed my bus because taeil kept me late to talk

 **Johnny [9:29pm]**  
he was mad?  
did you explain what happened

 **Jaehyunie [9:30pm]**  
yeah he told me it wasn’t my fault and whatever  
i just wanted to go home tho

 **Johnny [9:30pm]**  
want company?

 **Jaehyunie [9:31pm]**  
??? didn’t you have a full shift today too

 **Johnny [9:31pm]**  
yeah and  
i can meet you there  
with snacks  
and words of affirmation :D

 **Jaehyunie [9:32pm]**  
hahah i could definitely use both of those  
but you really don’t have to:(  
you had a long day too  
i just wanted to complain

 **Johnny [9:32pm]**  
i’ll be there in 20 min  
maybe 30 if the pizza place is busy

 **Jaehyunie [9:33pm]**  
really?  
i can just come over tomorrow  
it’s okay

 **Johnny [9:33pm]**  
too late i already left  
see you soon :)

Johnny isn’t actually out the door, but he sends the last message and throws his phone to the side before standing up from the couch. He’s still dressed from work, so all he does is pull his shoes back on and he’s ready to go, grabbing his bag with his keys and wallet from the floor.

He stifles a yawn as he grabs the jacket he’d had on earlier and leaves the apartment. No matter how much he wants to crawl into bed and sleep, the thought of Jaehyun upset and alone is already eating at him and he knows it would keep him awake if he didn’t go. He wasn’t going to let him sit and wallow, and certainly not by himself.

His car is still a little warm when he unlocks the door to slide into the driver’s seat, cranking the heating back up immediately after he turns the key. He drops his bag in the passenger seat, sitting back in his own seat and letting the heating warm the car for a minute before he pulls out of the parking garage and into the street traffic. 

It’s past rush hour, but the cars are still bumper to bumper, brakes flashing a sea of red at every intersection as Johnny taps his left foot impatiently. He knows the way by heart but he’s unlucky with the lights, getting stuck at every red because, of course, when he actually cares about being on time, traffic always crawls.

He dials their go-to pizza place on bluetooth to get his order in early, but they recognize his number and repeat his usual back to him for confirmation before he can even start to ask. How many times can you order the same thing before you become a regular, he wonders, and is that an achievement or a warning sign? He hangs up the phone still a little stunned, chuckling and reminding himself to start dieting again tomorrow. 

\----------------------------

The smell of the pizza makes his mouth water as Johnny trudges up the stairs to Jaehyun’s apartment. He balances the boxes on one forearm, held in place with his chest and wrist, and a heavy shopping bag hangs in the crook of his other elbow. It bangs into his knees with every step, and he tries to swing it out of the way without success. He makes it to the top with a groan, readjusting it so it doesn’t pinch his arm and carries on down the hallway. 

When he reaches Jaehyun’s door, he realizes he has no free hands to knock with, so he kicks the toe of his shoe against the door three times. He can hear the muffled patter of footsteps come running up, and then the door swings open and Jaehyun is smiling back at him. _He doesn’t look too devastated,_ Johnny observes. That makes things a little easier. 

“Pizza delivery?” Johnny greets, tipping his head to the side playfully as Jaehyun reaches out to take the boxes from him and lighten his load. “I trekked up all those stairs, the tip better be worth it.”

Jaehyun chuckles as he steps back into the apartment so Johnny can follow behind. “I can’t believe you actually came,” he says, turning around to watch him take off his jacket and shoes. 

Shoeless, he enters the room and flips his hair up to flash a warm smile. “What are best friends for?” is all he says before letting the bag slowly slip down his elbow. It hits the ground with a heavy thud. 

“What’s in there?” Jaehyun asks, walking closer to investigate.

“Snacks,” Johnny replies, pausing to wiggle an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know what mood you were in, so I got stuff for everything.”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes in confusion before crouching down to shift through the bag’s contents. He picks up the first thing he finds to look back up at him.

“Chips and guac?” he questions with a grin, and Johnny nods.

“If we wanna just sit back and relax, watch a football game, you know.”

“But we don’t like football.” Jaehyun is trying hard to keep his lips straight, and Johnny resists the urge to laugh at the face he’s pulling.

“Any sports game will do. It’s just-” he waves his hand around, “the vibe. Like dads at Thanksgiving.”

Jaehyun snorts but doesn’t say anything, setting them to the side to pull something else out. Johnny leans against the wall above him, watching as he picks up two pints of cookie dough ice cream. Jaehyun raises an eyebrow comically, waiting for his next explanation.

“If we want to watch Marley and Me or something and cry,” he says like it’s obvious, face as straight as possible. When Jaehyun’s expression only grows in amusement, he can’t keep a smile from cracking. “What!” he exclaims, “It’s a sad movie! You’re saying you can watch it and not cry?”

“Oh, I’ll definitely cry,” Jaehyun replies, “but I wasn’t planning on watching it. Ever again.”

“I’m not _suggesting_ it,” Johnny emphasizes. “I just wanted to come prepared in case you wanted to.”

“In case I wanted to cry into an ice cream tub and eat my sadness away?” Jaehyun says, but his voice is light with laughter.

Johnny shrugs, shoulder crawling up the wall and leaning his head against it. “I wouldn’t judge you if you did.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Jaehyun sets the ice cream aside and reaches in with two hands to pull out the last thing in the bag, resting it on his bent knees to rock backwards and look up again. “And the third option is?”

Johnny chuckles, nodding his head at the cans in his lap. “Beer goes great with greasy carbohydrates.”

“No it doesn’t,” Jaehyun laughs fully, rumbling in his chest. “That’s a recipe for a hangover.”

“And? Sometimes that’s all you need after a shitty day,” Johnny bargains. “When’s the last time you drank like you were back in college?”

Jaehyun doesn’t look convinced. “When we were back in college,” he says with a sharp laugh, setting the beer cans on the floor next to the other stuff. “Although the offer is tempting, we do both have to work tomorrow,” he says, looking up to where he’s leaning above him.

Johnny grumbles like a kid, earning a chuckle, but eventually nods. “One can it is, then. Beer and pizza night sounds good.”

He offers a hand to Jaehyun to pull him up and he accepts gladly, but not without giving an unnecessarily strong tug that almost sends him back to the floor with Johnny on top of him. He only narrowly saves himself and smacks Jaehyun on the arm as he jumps away, laughing.

“Gonna put the ice cream in the freezer!” he calls as he darts off into the kitchen with an innocent smile. Johnny just chuckles to himself as he puts the rest of the stuff back in the bag to move into the living room. 

As he sets the pizza boxes on the coffee table, he hears Jaehyun close the fridge and come back into the room. “So, you wanna talk about what happened today?” he asks with a side glance to check his response.

Jaehyun groans, rolling his eyes as he flops onto the couch. “I guess we should get that out of the way first,” he huffs, and Johnny offers him a pizza slice before settling back to give him his full attention.

“What happened?”

Instead of answering, Jaehyun takes a big bite of his slice and chews slowly, _very_ slowly, before swallowing it. Johnny waits, staring at him expectantly. “Hm?”

“Well,” Jaehyun finally starts, “I was just making drinks, right. Minding my own business.”

“Yeah…,” Johnny trails off, nodding him on.

“7 hours through my 8 hour shift,” he continues. “Just trying to do my job and make it through the day.”

“We all know the feeling,” Johnny chuckles.

“Yeah, right?” he exclaims, voice raising a little. “So I’m just working and then this guy comes up and tells Doyoung that his drink tastes funny.” 

Johnny’s brows furrow as he listens. “Tastes funny?”

“Yeah,” he pauses to make air quotes and the nasally tone they use to mock disrespectful customers, “ _tastes funny.”_ Then he scoffs. “It’s a cappuccino, there’s only two ingredients, it tastes like _coffee._ But anyways. _”_

Johnny stifles a laugh at the bite in his words, but Jaehyun doesn’t pause.

“Doyoung apologizes to him but says he isn’t the one who makes the drinks, but that he could offer him a new one if he wanted. Instead of just accepting and leaving, the guy asks to _speak to_ whoever made it. Like this is some sort of 5 star restaurant!” He starts to gesture, throwing a hand up in frustration. “Asking to speak to the chef, except this is a campus coffee shop.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Johnny agrees.

“Right! But Doyoung can never talk back to a customer, so he just turns to look at me and I’ve been listening the whole time so I walk over to spare him,” he explains. “I tell him I made the drink and without even responding he just demands that I make him a new one.”

“A new one?” Johnny parrots, matching his tone.

“A new one!” he exclaims back. “But, being the professional that I am, I hold my temper and I tell him it would be my pleasure but he’ll unfortunately need to pay for it.”

Johnny cracks a smile at that, patting him on the leg in acknowledgement without interrupting him. Jaehyun had always had more patience than him, and he admires it.

“Of course he doesn’t like that and asks why he has to pay,” Jaehyun continues. “I tell him because it would come out of my paycheck and I don’t feel like there was anything wrong with what I served him, and because I’m a student my budget is tight. _That_ was what set him off.”

“What’d he say?” Johnny asks, and Jaehyun gives him a look that says _just wait til you hear._

“He gets this look on his face like I’ve just spit at him,” Jaehyun explains, hands moving again, “and then he says, in the most rude tone possible, ‘ _Talk to me disrespectfully again and I’ll have some words for your manager’_.” He pauses for emphasis, brows raised high as he retells it. “Can you believe that!” 

Johnny’s jaw hangs open, and he shakes his head. “That’s insane. This is why I couldn’t work a customer service job. I can’t believe you just took it, Jaehyunie.”

Jaehyun deflates like a sad balloon. “It was awful. He couldn’t even tell me what was wrong with the drink, he just kept saying I did it wrong. He made such a fuss that Taeil had to come out anyways.”

“But he was on your side, right?” Johnny asks.

He nods. “Yeah, yeah he listened to my story and eventually asked the guy to leave,” he answers, but then leans forward to put his temple in his hand and rest it on his knee. “It was embarrassing, though,” he groans. “Having to explain it to Taeil and in front of all the other people there. I was almost off shift, too.”

Johnny reaches forward to rub his shoulder, shaking him a little. “I’m sorry, man. That really sucks, but I’m glad Taeil wasn’t upset with you. You did the right thing and you still have your job. It must feel good to have stood your ground, yeah?”

Jaehyun hums weakly. “I guess so. I would’ve preferred it never happen in the first place, though.” 

“Understandable,” Johnny agrees. Knowing the full story, he thinks it sounds just like Jaehyun to have done absolutely nothing wrong and still feel guilty. He knows him well, and because he does, he also knows that all he needs to get over it is a lazy night in and a good night’s sleep to be back to normal tomorrow. And Johnny can manage that. 

“You think I overreacted? Should I have just made him the new drink and forgotten about it?” Jaehyun asks him, glancing over with the eye that wasn’t hidden in his hand.

Johnny shakes his head, leaning back to get more comfortable. “I don’t think so. I would’ve done the same thing.”

Jaehyun seems to think this over, pursing his lips as he weighs the choices he could’ve made and the possible outcomes. Johnny lets him for a second, but then clears his throat to pull him back.

“Either way, it’s done now. Don’t think about it anymore, okay? Doyoung’s on your side, Taeil’s on your side, you have nothing to worry about,” Johnny assures with a smile. “I’m on your side, too.”

Jaehyun chuckles at him, finally flashing teeth, and it gives Johnny a bit of relief. “You’re always on my side. I could’ve spit in his drink and you’d still say that.”

“And I’m sure you would’ve had good reason to!” Johnny defends, laughing. Jaehyun’s laughter rings out with his, a familiar sound that makes him smile a little wider.

As they settle down again, Jaehyun seems content to take Johnny’s advice and leave the rant at that, instead reaching for another slice of pizza. Johnny takes a can of beer to open and hands it to him first, and he accepts with a half-chewed smile. He shoves his cheek away with a gentle touch, letting his hand drag down as he makes a playful sound of disgust.

“You’re a toddler,” Johnny laughs, scrunching his nose at him.

“Mmm,” Jaehyun mumbles around the food, making kissy lips with his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. Johnny stares at him for a second. _Cute,_ he finds himself thinking, but then shakes his head to clear it. That wasn’t cute, that was _gross_. 

“Chew your food with your mouth shut, nasty,” he retorts lightly and turns away to grab the other can of beer for himself, and the TV remote. “Wanna watch The Breakfast Club?” he asks Jaehyun, pulling up Netflix. “I was gonna watch it before you texted.”

“Sure, it’s been ages,” Jaehyun agrees easily, sitting back against the couch. Their shoulders knock together, but he shows no interest in moving.

Instead of shifting, Johnny just switches hands to use the remote properly, leaving his other arm trapped loosely under Jaehyun’s.

“Me either, but it’s a classic,” he says as he pulls it up and presses play.

As it starts, he tosses the remote down beside his leg and picks up his beer from the coffee table. The starting credits roll, and the familiar song along with them.

“Such a good song. I haven’t heard it in years,” Jaehyun says quietly, humming the tune as Johnny wordlessly nods. Heads bobbing with it, they both sing the chorus as it starts, making each other break into laughter. “Still know it though,” he giggles. 

The song finishes and the movie starts, and Jaehyun settles next to him to watch. Johnny can feel his chest swell against his side as he breathes, slow and melodic and much calmer than when he’d first arrived. He cracks a little smile, because it’s almost funny how quickly his mood had flipped with just some pizza and beer, but regardless he’s relieved it worked.

They watch intently for a while, sipping beer and chuckling occasionally. Johnny finishes two slices of pizza before wiping the grease off his hands while Jaehyun works on a third. 

“Did you ever have detention on Saturday?” Jaehyun asks him, eyes trained on the movie.

Johnny exhales shortly. “No, we didn’t have that,” he says.

“You mean this isn’t how every American high school is?” Jaehyun asks, turning to him with his eyes wide in surprise, but a mischievous glint in them that makes Johnny laugh.

“No, sadly,” he replies with forged disappointment. “Maybe 40 years ago, but not now.”

“Hmm,” Jaehyun replies as he turns back to the movie, knocking back against him. He tips his chin back to finish his beer, stretching forward to set it on the coffee table with a satisfied sigh. “If it was, though,” he begins, “who would you be, you think?”

“Which of them?” Johnny motions to the screen, where the students are spread around the library. When Jaehyun nods, he takes a second to think about it. “Uhh, probably the nerd one, I guess.”

“Not the bad boy?” Jaehyun giggles.

“Very funny,” Johnny plays along, digging his shoulder into his to shove him a little. “I had two Asian parents, not a chance in hell. I never even got one detention.”

Jaehyun breaks into laughter, head flopping back against the couch and rolling to the side. His hair brushes against Johnny’s neck, and he laughs along. “Who would you be? The jock?” he continues.

Jaehyun scoffs, still catching his breath.

“Don’t argue! You played basketball, and I bet girls were falling over themselves in front of you,” Johnny says.

“Okay, maybe the first part is right, but you’re ignoring the part about this guy being an insecure prick!” Jaehyun exclaims, but he’s laughing and Johnny can’t keep a straight face.

“Minus that part, then,” Johnny gets out, but now they’re both laughing again and Jaehyun is trying to act offended but one second of eye contact makes him burst into giggles.

Johnny nearly chokes and spits out his last sip of beer as he finishes off his can with Jaehyun bumping against him, but he forces it down and starts coughing. Jaehyun, still laughing, weakly pats him on the back in sympathy as he fights for breath, shuffling over to let him sit up fully.

Once he can get a full inhale, Johnny scoots off the couch to stand up and clear the coffee table. Jaehyun pauses the movie to help, but Johnny stops him before he can get up.

“I’ll just bring it in the kitchen,” he says, picking up the pizza boxes and empty cans. “You want another one?” he calls as he walks towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, one more should be fine,” Jaehyun agrees, and Johnny returns with two cold cans of beer. “Thank you,” he says as Johnny hands one to him and then sits down again. 

Even with choice, Johnny doesn’t try to make space as he sits down right where he was before without a second thought. Jaehyun grabs the remote to press play again and, when he sits back, rests his elbow on top of his, wiggling a little to get comfortable. It’s warm where their skin touches, but Johnny doesn’t think about it too much.

The movie plays on, and they pick fun at each other as their self-assigned characters. He doesn’t notice his arm going numb where it’s trapped under him, but when he readjusts a little it suddenly explodes in pins and needles and he wiggles it out to get the blood flowing again. Jaehyun doesn’t budge except to let his arm free, filling the empty space immediately and leaning against him a little closer.

Johnny can only blink, with his arm raised above his head and Jaehyun’s shoulder now tucked under his own. Laying his arm back down where it was would be uncomfortable for both of them, so the logical place to rest it is… 

Hesitantly, Johnny brings his arm over Jaehyun’s head and lets it fall along the top of the couch. Jaehyun doesn’t react at all, and he’s careful not to pinch any of his hair, so he stays put. Now, he’s painfully aware of the warm body pressing against his side from top to bottom, his elbow on his hip and knees bumping, and maybe it’s sending alarm bells off in his head because _this isn’t what they usually do_ , but he supposes this isn’t a usual evening. Jaehyun had messaged him searching for comfort, and that was what he came for. If this was the comfort that he wanted, then he could surely manage that.

The longer they stay like that, the more Johnny finds that he doesn’t necessarily mind it. Once he gets his brain under control and focuses back on the movie, Jaehyun is like a heater against him that stays comfortably warm. His arm doesn’t hurt anymore, and when Jaehyun laughs he can feel it vibrate against him, and it makes him feel warmer.

His fingers subconsciously play with the material of Jaehyun’s top on his other shoulder, rolling it between them and then smoothing it out. Only when Jaehyun readjusts does he realize what he’s doing and pull his hand away, but then he hears a noise of complaint audible over the movie that makes him turn.

Instead of arching his neck to look up at him, Jaehyun opts for butting his head into Johnny’s chest with a weak grumble. “You didn’t have to stop,” he says simply, and Johnny stares at the top of his head, lost for words. Instead of replying, because he’s still embarrassed that he was doing it in the first place and can’t even _begin_ to wrap his head around his comment, he puts his hand back where it was obediently. He cups his shoulder and pulls the fabric of his sleeve between his index and thumb. Jaehyun doesn’t say anything, but he wriggles a little and Johnny swears he couldn’t get any closer. 

Not wanting to make any other movements that would cause disruption, Johnny stays very still for most of the rest of the movie. He finishes his beer near the end but he can’t reach to set it down so he just holds the empty can. He thinks Jaehyun has finished his, too, because he’s gotten looser against him and his head tickles the bottom of his chin.

His _think_ becomes a _know_ when the movie finishes and the beginning song starts up again, because Jaehyun suddenly makes an excited noise and uses Johnny’s knee to push himself up. He can only laugh and use the opportunity to stretch out his sore limbs because he knows what’s coming.

“Jooohn,” Jaehyun drawls with a sweet smile from where he stands in the middle of the room. “Let’s dance.” 

Usually, Johnny would need some more convincing. He’d bat him away when he tried to drag him out of his chair to dance and push one of their friends up in his place, but they aren’t in a bar or club tonight. There’s no one else, no curious bystanders or people to stare, it’s just Jaehyun. Just them, and he doesn’t mind that so much.

Johnny drags himself off the couch, and he can’t hide his smile at the way Jaehyun cheers and reaches out for him immediately. “You’re not even gonna argue at all?” he asks as Johnny turns the song up a little before walking around the coffee table towards him.

“I’m here to make your day less shitty,” Johnny chuckles. “That wouldn’t be doing a very good job, would it?”

“You’re doing a great job,” Jaehyun says quietly, but before the conversation can continue, the chorus starts.

“Don’t you,” Johnny sings, pointing at him and dancing, “forget about me.”

“Don’t don’t don’t don’t,” Jaehyun picks up after him, laughing. He sways back and forth, following Johnny’s movements and matching them.

Johnny wiggles his fingers and drags them up and down in between them, singing _rain keeps falling down, down, down._ He leans in close to throw his head back and yell _hey, hey, hey, hey!_ before handing the invisible baton over to Jaehyun to do the _oooOoOooh woah_ right after, which he’s ready for.

He’s laughing so hard after their mini karaoke session that Jaehyun nearly loses balance, hands reaching out for purchase just as Johnny grabs his forearms and holds him steady. They freeze for a second as Johnny sees the near disaster flash before his eyes, but then Jaehyun, all sparkly-eyed and pink-cheeked, bursts into laughter and lurches forward to bury his head in Johnny’s shoulder.

“That could’ve been very bad,” Johnny says over his head, eyeing the glass coffee table a step away. He feels Jaehyun’s chest vibrate against him.

“But you saved me,” he mumbles back, eyes nearly closed but still grinning.

Johnny hums, letting his hands fall from his arms and bringing one to smooth along his side. The song fades out as the credits roll, and Jaehyun’s dancing is reduced to a slow sway that moves Johnny with him.

The next song is softer, and the black screen makes the room darker as Jaehyun lifts his head up and meets Johnny’s eyes only a few inches away. He takes Johnny’s free hand in his and steps back as though he’s going to twirl, so Johnny lifts his arm to stretch over his head, but then he just looks back at Johnny with a dopey smile. 

Johnny’s cheeks redden as he drops their hands quickly, and Jaehyun steps forward again. “I wasn’t going to, but if you’re offering,” he breathes, and then yanks his arm back up to duck under it.

He comes back around with a slight stumble, a blinding smile and an infectious laugh that makes Johnny’s heart hammer in his chest. His hand returns to his side to rebalance him, and Jaehyun loops his arms around his neck lazily, hot and heavy and _very close_ to him.

If he’s being honest, Johnny has no idea what’s going on. Jaehyun has drunk-danced more than a few times, but it’s never been like this. It’s never been in his dimly lit living room slow dancing to an old 80s song, hands on waists and around necks and foreheads nearly touching. His stomach flutters with a similar feeling to the secondhand embarrassment he’d get at the bar, but it’s different here. It’s just Jaehyun. Except he isn’t sure what Jaehyun is doing.

Maybe he’s had too much to drink, Johnny’s rational brain tries to say. He knows this can’t really be true because he’d handed him the two cans himself, but that’s the only logical explanation he can come up with.

“Are you… feeling okay?” Johnny says quietly by his ear as Jaehyun sways them side to side, because maybe he’s suddenly tired and can’t stand up by himself.

When he pulls back, Jaehyun meets his eyes. They’re a little red, Johnny notices, but it’s nothing like after a real night out. It’s relieving at first, but then he starts thinking.

“Feel great,” Jaehyun answers smoothly, pulling his attention back to where their faces are inches apart. “You feel okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” Johnny stutters out, and he can’t ignore the way Jaehyun’s eyes flit across his entire face.

“You sure?” Jaehyun asks again, and his arms tighten slightly on both sides of Johnny’s neck as he interlocks his fingers behind him. It’s barely any pressure, but it doesn’t help that he’s already feeling lightheaded.

He still has no idea what’s going on, but he’s starting to get an idea. All kinds of signals are shooting off in Johnny’s brain and his nerves are lighting up everywhere but all of his senses are clouded with _Jaehyun_ and he can’t really be bothered to try and interpret them. The song has gone fuzzy in the background now, but he can feel the weight of his arms on his shoulders and his waist in his palm and all he can see is Jaehyun’s sparkling eyes looking back at him and maybe, maybe this isn’t so crazy.

He’s vaguely aware of the lop-sided smile Jaehyun wears as he cocks his head slightly, a tell tale sign that he’s about to do something he hasn’t fully thought through. Johnny’s too distracted by the tongue that darts over his bottom lip to put two and two together before it’s too late.

Jaehyun’s mouth on his comes with a wave of crashing emotion that swallows everything and then disappears all at once, drowning and then emptying the sea from around him. He almost blacks out for a second, song completely forgotten (or maybe the movie’s ended, he wouldn’t know), and he’s sure Jaehyun can tell with the way his hand locks into a death grip at his waist. He doesn’t flinch, though, and his only tell is his lips curving against Johnny’s as he presses incessantly closer, like he’s inhaling him. His hands have separated now, and one slides down to grip at his shoulder while the other twists into his hair. 

Johnny’s still reeling and too shocked to properly kiss back because his brain hasn’t caught up to what’s happening and he’s spiraling from the sudden overload of feelings that he’d never acknowledged before. Jaehyun doesn’t push it too far, just holds still against him for a few seconds before pulling back and dropping his arms from his neck to give him a little space.

After some amount of time of just standing there, Johnny isn’t sure exactly how much, he registers Jaehyun’s voice cutting through the haze in his head.

“Johnny?” he asks again hesitantly, and when Johnny looks up, his brows are slightly furrowed.

He can’t say anything, his jaw hanging open dumbly as he stares back at him. “Y-yeah?”

Jaehyun looks betrayed, raw hurt in his face, and Johnny feels his heart crack a little. “I’m sorry, I thought you—” he rushes out, but cuts himself off with a flinch and drops his gaze. “I shouldn’t have done that, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

The rational part of Johnny’s brain tells him to be relieved, because everything that had happened was just too much to process and it was easier to just shove it away, but the other part, the human part, the _real_ part feels guilty and disappointed and the overwhelming urge to fix.

“Hey,” Johnny murmurs, and realizes that, even though Jaehyun had dropped his arms, he still has a palm wrapped around his side. He rubs a thumb into the skin there, and Jaehyun glances at it before sheepishly looking back up at him. “We’ve been drinking. Are you sure your head is where you want it?”

To his surprise, Jaehyun lets out a weak laugh. He narrows his eyes and waits for a response, because he needs to be sure. He needs to hear him say it. “I’m serious.”

Jaehyun sighs, but he still looks dejected. “Yes, I’m sure, Johnny. I can’t believe I just kissed you and your first thought is that I’m drunk.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking at all,” he tells him. In a stroke of confidence, he reaches up to brush some of his hair out of his face. “How long?” he asks simply.

Jaehyun’s eyes widen and he stiffens under his touch, but Johnny is quick to soothe him. “It’s okay, I’m not upset I just—I need to know.”

Suddenly, Jaehyun looks like he’s about to cry. His furrowed brows turn upwards and Johnny’s entire body alerts like a hound dog with concern. “Months, Johnny,” he breathes out in a shaky exhale. “So long.”

With just those words, pieces start falling into place. It’s like the last few months play at 16x speed through his head, every moment he had shrugged off as friendly or impersonal or _he didn’t mean it like that_ , and every time he’d thought he was overthinking things. Now, he just feels guilty and dumb.

“Oh, Jaehyunie,” is all he can get out as thoughts barrel through his brain. Apologies, emotions, confessions and the overwhelming pull to kiss him again properly, because maybe that could express everything he can’t organize coherently.

“No, it’s okay,” Jaehyun says, but he’s sniffling and Johnny can hear the thickness in his voice even if he’s hiding the tears in his eyes. “You don’t have to pity me, you can just pretend—”

“I don’t want to _pretend_ anything,” Johnny cuts him off, letting go of his side to raise his chin with both hands. The tears fall in two equal streaks, and he uses his thumbs to wipe them away as Jaehyun stares back so deeply, so vulnerable and trusting. Johnny matches it, holding as steady as he can to try and convey how he feels. How sure he is of this.

His thumbs ghost over the arch of his cheekbones as he tilts his face up to slot their lips together. Jaehyun’s ready and waiting, running both hands up his chest to twist into the fabric there and pull him closer. He lets Jaehyun lick into his mouth, pulling his bottom lip between his own as their noses bump together.

He breathes him in until he’s satisfied that his point has been made, just enough to speak the words he can’t say right now, and then he pulls back. This time around, Jaehyun looks placated and a little dazed, eyes still glossy from the tears and cheeks cradled in Johnny’s palms.

Johnny is the first to offer a weak smile. “You okay?” he asks, trying to get Jaehyun’s eyes to focus.

When they do, instead of answering, he lets out a little giggle. Johnny cocks an eyebrow at him, and he laughs again.

Johnny lets his face go, brushing over his hair again as his hands travel down his shoulders and both his arms, settling loosely right above either wrist. “Jaehyun?”

He laughs more, cheeks squishing his eyes into curves, but he wiggles his wrists through his grip until his hands are almost fully encased in Johnny’s own, held properly. “I’m okay. I just can’t believe this is happening right now.”

“No?” Johnny replies, a teasing lilt to his voice as he swings their hands a little. “What can’t you believe?”

Jaehyun gives him a suspicious look, but a smile breaks through. “I don’t know, just—you. Here. Doing this.” He glances at their hands, smiling wider. “Don’t make me say it.”

“What?” Johnny pokes, making him whine in protest. “Didn’t think you could pull me?”

“No, I didn’t!” Jaehyun caves, cheeks flushing. “I didn’t think so, that’s why I never did anything about it. But today, I don’t know, you just… it felt different.”

Johnny had only been playing around, and he’s a little caught off guard when Jaehyun admits it. “Oh,” he gets out. He’d been thinking that it felt different all evening, too, and he can’t put a finger on how exactly but he understands. 

“Did you… know?”

Johnny thinks for a second, and maybe, looking back, he could’ve figured it out. Everything clicked as soon as he realized, but truthfully he didn’t have a clue before that and who knows how long it would’ve taken naturally. He shakes his head, and Jaehyun looks surprised at his response. 

“You thought I did?” he asks.

“Well, not exactly, I guess,” Jaehyun answers. “I just thought I wasn’t very good at hiding it, so you must’ve had an idea.”

“I had _no_ idea,” Johnny admits with a chuckle, and Jaehyun smiles sheepishly. 

“So… what do you think, then?” he asks him, eyes hopeful but still anxious.

Johnny smiles. “If I didn’t want to try, you’d definitely know by now.”

Jaehyun’s face lights up in a grin, and for a second it looks like he doesn’t know what to do with all the joy that rushes through his body, but then he channels it all into a bone-crushing hug that knocks the air out of Johnny. He wheezes out a laugh, wrapping his arms just as tightly around him and burying his nose in his hair.

“I wish you would’ve dropped a hint sooner,” he says when his arms loosen and he can breathe again. “We could’ve done this months ago.”

All the feelings he’d mistaken for simply caring about his best friend had always been more than that, and he just needed the push to realize it.

“I was waiting for you, dummy,” Jaehyun giggles up at him, and Johnny scrunches up his nose playfully.

Then, _cute_ floats through his head again as he looks at Jaehyun trying so hard to be grumpy. This time, though, instead of just thinking it and trying to ignore the way his heart skips and warms, Johnny leans down and places a soft kiss right on his pouting lip, making him laugh in surprise. Because he was allowed to do that now.

“We have a lot of kisses to catch up on, you know,” Johnny tells him with a playful smirk. “Months of wasted time that we’ll never get back.”

“Mm,” Jaehyun hums before getting up on his tippy toes to breathe against his lips, “Let’s start now.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! + a big thank you to the prompter for your lovely idea, and also to the fest mods who've been so great and helpful and supportive!
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated<33


End file.
